Artist-Grade Technical Pens for Drawing

What is a technical pen?

• A technical pen, also fineliner, is a pen intended for technical drawing for use by engineers, architects and drafters.
• Technical pens are specialized in creating lines of uniform thickness.
• Artists, illustrators, cartoonists and graphic designers use these pens for drawing, sketching and concept art.
• These pens are also great for doodling, writing, signature work and drawing mandalas.

Review for 12 recommended brands of technical pens:

1. Staedtler Pigment Liner
2. Copic multiliner SP
3. Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment
4. Sakura Pigma Micron
5. Uni PIN Fine Line
6. Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen
7. Edding 1800 Profipen
8. Pilot Drawing Pen
9. Zig Mangaka
10. Zig Millennium
11. Deleter Neopiko Line 3
12. Tombow MONO Drawing Pen

Disclosure: some links in this article are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you choose to make a purchase.

Note: this guide is aimed for artists. All pens in this article are owned and tested by me, and all drawings were made by me.

Pigment Liner technical pen by Staedtler is a quality, disposable pen with indelible, lightfast and waterproof pigment ink.

Nib sizes: 12

According to Staedtler, these technical pens can be left uncapped for at least 12 hours without drying.

Pros:

• High quality, lightfast pigmented ink
• Wide variety of nib sizes
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size
• These technical pens can be left with cap off while sketching or drawing

Cons:

• Simple structure

Conclusion:

With 12 nib sizes and high quality ink, the Staedtler Pigment Liner is a good example for an excellent artist-grade drawing pen.

See on Amazon

The Copic Multiliner SP technical pen is designed for a lifetime of use.

Nib sizes: 9

Filler & nibs for Copic Multiliner SP can be replaced when necessary.

Besides black, these pens come in 12 colors.

In addition to the SP model, a non-SP disposable Multiliner pen exists, and it is cheaper.

See on Amazon

Pros:

• Wide variety of nib sizes
• Refillable
• Replaceable nibs
• Durable non-smearing ink
• A high quality technical pen with a beautiful design and a smooth aluminum body
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size

Cons:

• Pricey

Conclusion:

Compared to other technical pens on this review, Copic is significantly expensive.

That said, it delivers with high quality, beautiful design and it is long-lasting.

See on Amazon

The Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment technical pen is second to none in that price range. High-grade, consistent and comfortable.

Nib sizes: 8

These drawing pens are lightfast, meaning their ink is resistant to fading when exposed to light.

In addition to black ink, Ecco Pigment pens are available in 3 colors: red, green and blue.

Pros:

• Wide variety of nib sizes
• Pigmented ink, lightfast, permanent, Acid-free, archival
• High quality ergonomic structure

Cons:

• No size caption on the top part of the cap

Conclusion:

The Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment is flawless with superior ergonomic structure.

Highly recommended for any type of art, from top quality drawings to doodling, manga, sketching, and creating coloring pages.

See on Amazon

The Pigma Micron disposable technical pen is a favorite with illustrators and for a good reason.

Nib sizes: 8

These technical pens have a durable ink made of pigments. They are manufactured by Sakura.

In addition to black, these technical pens come in 14 colors for the nib size 0.45mm. Fewer colors for other nib sizes.

Pros:

• High quality, durable pigmented ink
• Affordable price
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size

Cons:

• Simple structure

Conclusion:

Not that attractive design, but good price and quality ink make the Pigma Micron a favorite for many artists and graphic designers for drawing manga, comics and sketching.

See on Amazon

Author's comment:

If you are on a budget, one technical pen with nib size 0.1 should do the job.

Depending on the brand, size 0.1 can produce fine details and still produce noticeable marks.

Additional (second) recommended size would be 0.5 since it creates bold outlines that are great for drawing coloring pages or cartoon characters.

That said, many brands offer small sets of 3 to 5 nib-sizes at an affordable price.

The Uni PIN Fine Line is known for its consistent lines and strong black ink.

Nib sizes: 10

Fade proof and water resistant Ink.

In addition to black, sizes 0.1 and 0.5 come in 5 colors.

Pros:

• Fade proof and water resistant Ink
• Affordable price
• Wide variety of nib sizes
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size

Cons:

• Simple structure
• A strong black ink that is less ideal for some styles of drawing and sketching

Conclusion:

Uni PIN Fine Line is another good example for a drawing pen. The nib size is well-written for ease of use.

These fineliners produce well-defined lines, which are great for technical drawing, signature, mandala and drawing in perspective using a ruler. Less suitable for some styles of sketching.

See on Amazon

The Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen is great for graphic designers, illustrators, cartoonists and for coloring.

Nib sizes: 4

These drawing pens produce thick, vivid lines with pigmented, lightfast ink.

Pros:

• Affordable price when buying a set of 4
• The ink is water-resistant, permanent, odor-free, acid-free, and pH neutral

Cons:

• Only 4 nib sizes
• Actual size in millimeters not written

Conclusion:

Like other Faber-Castell products, these fineliners offer quality. They offer limited size range though. They are great for drawing cartoons, comics, manga and drawing mandala.

See on Amazon

The Edding 1800 Profipen disposable technical pen is another example for a good drawing and sketching pen.

Nib sizes: 4

Lightfast, waterproof pigment ink.

These technical pens come in 4 colors: black, red, blue and green.

Pros:

• Waterproof pigmented Ink
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size

Cons:

• A bit pricey
• Only 4 nib sizes
• It is hard to open and close the cap
• Simple structure

Conclusion:

The Edding 1800 is a good pen when it comes to ink quality but they are limited in nib sizes and the cap is too hard to open or close.

See on Amazon

Pilot Drawing Pen fineliners are water-based, simple, entry-level drawing pens.

Nib sizes: 5

Water-resistant & light-resistant pigment ink.

3 colors to choose from: black, red and blue.

Pros:

• Waterproof pigmented Ink
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size
• Affordable price

Cons:

• Nib size not written on the pen's body
• Simple structure

Conclusion:

These pens are quite smooth and therefore great for doodling, mandala and writing. Less ideal for fine art drawing or sketching.

Zig Mangaka are artist-grade, water-based, drawing pens designed for drawing manga and other cartoon drawings.

Nib sizes: 7

Mangaka is part of Zig Cartoonist, which are products for use by professional, manga/cartoon artists and graphic designers. They are great for sketching, doodling or ANY form of art.

Size 01 is available in 5 colors.

Pros:

• Smudge-proof
• Lightfast water-based pigment, xylene free, odorless
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size
• Affordable price

Cons:

• Their advantage of being small and lightweight may not fit in large hands
• Simple structure

Conclusion:

These pens are amazing. Small and lightweight, easy to work with. They feel natural when drawing. Highly recommended!

See on Amazon

Another great product from Kuretake, the Zig Millennium is a professional artist pen for sketching.

They are part of Zig Memory System, which is a line of products designed for scrapbooking, journaling and card making with water-based pigment ink to preserve for future generations.

Nib sizes: 6

They also exist in 8 colors.

These are of archival quality and in addition to sketching, they are great for signature work.

Other than that, Zig Millennium is identical to Zig Mangaka, both in structure and in quality:

Pros:

• Acid free
• Archival quality
• Pigment ink
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size
• Affordable price

Cons:

• Simple structure

Conclusion:

Another superb pen for drawing and sketching. Great for ANY type of art.

See on Amazon

Deleter is a manufacturer of art materials for manga artists and cartoonists.

Neopiko Line 3 is another example for a great drawing pen with water-based pigment ink of top quality.

Nib sizes: 8

They come in 3 colors: black, grey and sepia.

By another, I mean it is identical in structure to Zig Mangaka and Zig Millennium and all three pens have quality ink.

Cartoon test:

As expected from fineliners for manga, they all work perfectly with Copic markers.

Pros:

• Waterproof, lightfast and archival
• Smooth and durable high quality nib
• Smudge-proof with alcohol-based and water-based markers
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size

Cons:

• Simple structure

Conclusion:

Since Neopiko pens are quite similar to Zig fineliners, selecting one over the other is a matter of price.

See on Amazon

Author's comment:

Some sketching pens can produce both well-defined lines when perpendicular to the drawing surface and less defined lines when diagonal, which gives them another brightness value.

Tombow MONO are disposable, water-based, pigment ink, drawing pens.

Nib sizes: 3

These pens are quite smooth and their ink dries instantly!

Pros:

• Smudge-proof, ink dries instantly!
• Durable nib
• Caption on the top part of the cap to quickly find the desired size

Cons:

• Only 3 nib sizes
• Can leave dots while drawing if not careful
• Simple structure

Conclusion:

These pens are smooth which is nice, but if the nib is not removed immediately from the drawing-paper after each mark, it will leave a dot of ink.

Therefore, less recommended for technical drawing.

These pens are great for beginners since their nib is durable and will not bend. And, since their ink dries instantly, there is less chance of smudging.

In addition, they are great for doodling.

See on Amazon

There is a large selection for recommended brands of technical pens. Some are designed for any type of drawing or sketching while others are suitable for writing, signature work or hobbies like doodling and mandala drawing.

Technical pens are also suitable for:

• Drawing coloring pages
• Drawing comic characters
• Combined with paint markers

Important:

• Pressing hard with a technical pen while drawing can scratch the paper sheet and damage it.
• Technical pens have a thin and gentle nib, especially the small sizes, which can bend if pressed hard.
• Some technical pens should be stored horizontally.

For more actual drawings with these pens, visit my tutorial on how to draw depth.

Keep in mind:

Another tool for drawing and sketching anything, anywhere, is a mechanical pencil.

The advantage of a mechanical pencil is that mistakes can be erased.

The advantage of a technical pen is that it is permanent and it does not smudge.

To learn more on how to use mechanical pencils, visit my how, when & why to draw with a mechanical pencil guide.

The technical pen brand review and drawings were made with technical pens owned by me.